Obenseuer's Protagonist/Flashbacks

This section contains Heavy Story Spoilers, it is advised not to read further!

‎

In Obenseuer game, flashbacks are a narrative medium that reveal the events that took prior to the arrival of Obenseuer's Protagonist in Obenseuer district.

They are triggered during specific quests, and are not shown in chronological order. Some of them are simple recollection of events in Protagonist's mind, some of them take place in Other Side, mixing recollections with present-time events.

List of flashbacks in chronological order

Preliminary Assessment Meeting

Seen during optional True Welho quest.

Protagonist attends a meeting, set seemingly in an office buiding, where the Interviewers conduct the preliminary assessment on the Protagonist before they can deploy them onto the Device Site. Protagonist talks directly in-person with one of the Interviewers, while the remaining 6 of them participate from remote locations, and are only seen on screens.

Transcript:

Interviewer: "[First and Last name of the Protagonist]. We must conduct... a preliminary assessment before we authorize your deployment to the site."

Protagonist: "I'm ready."

Interviewer: "Good."

Interviewer: "First, we need confirmation that you understand exactly what happens to you if you breach your... non-disclosure agreement."

Protagonist: "Yes, I understand what will happen."

Interviewer: "Excellent."

Interviewer: "You know the basics of the operation, and you know our operational window is..."

Interviewer: "... extremely short."

Interviewer: "So, there is no time to freeze up."

Interviewer: "You get in, you finish the job, no matter what happens around you."

Interviewer: "Do you understand?"

Protagonist: "Yes, no hesitation. I've got it."

Interviewer: "Great."

Interviewer: "If everything goes well, your pending relocation to Obenseuer will be revoked entirely."

Interviewer: "..."

Interviewer: "Now, listen closely."

Interviewer: "Five others have gone ahead of you for this exact task."

Interviewer: "And you're the last one."

Interviewer: "When it's your turn, you will be instructed to stand on a designated marker."

Interviewer: "The transition is going to... hit you hard and you will experience severe dizziness."

Interviewer: "You must focus entirely on... remaining conscious... so, do not allow yourself to faint."

Interviewer: "Upon arrival, you will... materialize directly at the edge of the excavation hole."

Interviewer: "So... get down there as fast as you can and use the provided pickaxe to extract as many of the red rocks as possible."

Interviewer: "Next, we're..."

Interviewer: "..."

Flashback is interrupted by Wizard Welhö, who has the ability to manipulate and shape the scene, switching focus away from Protagonist's past.

Device Site

Seen during main Getting a Passport quest.

Protagonist is at a designated site, a field outside Obenseuer district with a small cabin house nearby, the same location seen during character creation screen. The site with the protagonist is surrounded by numerous apparatus around, with two workers standing behind them. An unseen voice, unofficially referred to as the Employer, is heard instructing the Protagonist. It is unknown if the Interviewer and the Employer are the same person, however in the game files both do use the same voice set called "Richard".

Transcript:

Employer: "..."

Employer: "[Last name of the Protagonist]?"

Employer: "You remember the instructions, right?"

Employer: "There should be a lot of red... rocks in this area."

Employer: "Collect as many of them as you can."

Employer: "We are setting up the device now..."

The device is activated, Protagonist's view is distorted, and they are seemingly transported to the Other Side as the flashback ends.

Excavation Hole

Seen during optional Deeply Insane quest.

Protagonist is in the Other Side at the designated excavation site of the Red Rocks. Before the flashback begins, Protagonist in present time encounters Kasa, who repeately tells them to pick up a ringing phone. The phone grows up from the bottom of the excavation site, and picking it up starts the proper flashback conversation.

Transcript:

Employer: "Have you already completed your mission?"

Protagonist: "No, I'm sorry, I failed."

Employer: "..."

Employer: "Of course you did..."

Employer: "... it was what I was expecting..."

Employer: "I guess you know why you were hired for this job?

Protagonist: "Because I had no other choice."

Employer: "Exactly."

Employer: "You're just like the rest of them."

Employer: "A drunk, a liar, a failure drowning in debt, a junkie clawing for one last chance…"

Protagonist: "You knew I’d fail. Why you hired me?"

Employer: "Hope, desperation, stupidity... you were perfect for this mission that no one has ever survived."

Employer: "And you took it."

Employer: "You thought you could crawl out of the hole."

Employer: "But you just kept digging."

Employer: "You tried to find those... rocks... like everyone else."

Employer: "And you have found them!"

Employer: "So... collect those rocks and don't forget yourself."

After the Employer hangs out the call, Red Rocks grow out of the ground for the Protagonist to collect them, which collecting ends the flashback.

It is unknown if the phone conversation is truly just a recollection of past events, or is actively happening in real time, however Player being unable to select what to say in the dialogue suggests it really did happen in the past.